Rated M to be safe. Implied sexual conduct and adult situations. Note: there is also a possible trigger warning, there is a discussion about rape and a similar situation that is just barely accepted in this story-world.
For reference: I do not personally agree with forced sexual situations for any reason and I have not been in such a situation but I'm not blind to the fact they exist in this world. Though such a theme runs in the background of this story, I would ask you, my dear readers, to look past the trauma and recognize that yes, you can rise above what someone did to you because you are worth more than what they think or did. Respect to all those who rose above the ashes they tried to bury you in. To those still fighting in the fire, hold on because you are valuable.
Disclaimer for the entire story: Sadly, I do not own Strange Magic, although I do have the DVD that I play once a week. I also do not own any surprise visitors from other fandoms that pop-up in this story. All events, names, and places are coincidental. Enjoy the story!
P.S. Blame my Aunt's love of Perry Mason tv show for this AU.
Chapter 1
For centuries, humans have waged war on the lycanthropes with the thought that they were only animals. Wolves caught transforming were destroyed as infected humans and those trapped were forced to ignore their instincts or be killed. Finally having had enough of the senseless carnage, the wolf king crossed into the human world and threatened war over his murdered subjects. His supernatural power and large size convinced the more intelligent humans to listen and soon centuries of superstitions were erased.
The line between the wolf world and the human world blurs every four years and allows travel from the first full moon to the twelfth full moon. Wolves, being very curious creatures, like crossing into the human world and some even choose to stay when the gateway closes so that they can live and sometimes breed with humans. The wolf king's sister volunteered to stay in the human world to maintain order among the wolves and that they obey the human's laws. But everyone knows that it is hard to understand things far different than what you're raised.
"It's seven o'clock!"
Marianne Bane bolts awake at the loud yell. Looking through the open windows reveal her elderly neighbor on their back porch with a bullhorn. With a curse, she jumps out of bed and races to the kitchen.
"Gabriel, Michael, wake up! The electric went off last night and we're going to be late," the frantic woman yells!
Pausing in her rushing, Marianne takes a moment to appreciate the frantic movements coming from the other house. Calmly the elderly woman walks back into her house where her son, the handsome Bog Kingston, rushes around in just his unbuttoned pants to finish his morning habits. The large windows on both of their homes are a blessing and a curse. Forcing herself to quit drooling with a harsh rebuke about the dangers of love and lust, Marianne pours the finished coffee into her mug and heads to her sons' bedroom.
"Don't worry, Mommy. I'll make sure Mikey is dressed," the seven-year-old Gabe reassures as he pulls on his own clothes.
"Mommy's good boys. I knew I could count on you two," she praises. "I have Pop-Tarts in the toaster and after Mommy beats Mr Bog in court then he'll pay for breakfast."
The two boys' laughter echoes her own as she heads to her bedroom to speedily dress. Soon she joins her sons in the only bathroom to make sure all teeth and hair are properly brushed. She picks up the three-year-old Mikey as Gabe grabs the on-the-go breakfast and rushes out the front door.
"You're going to be late this time, Bane," Bog yells as he hurries his mother into their car!
"Not a chance, Kingston," Marianne yells back, making sure the boys are properly buckled!
She quickly puts the car into drive and speeds down the long driveway. Grinning and with the boys' encouragement, Marianne pulls out onto the main road just seconds ahead of Bog and forces him to drive behind her. She cackles as her rearview mirror reveals his obvious frustration and Griselda Kingston's own cackling. The two lawyers barely obey the traffic laws as they race toward the city and through the morning traffic.
"Who is late, Kingston," Marianne laughs as he pulls into the empty parking space beside her?
"We both are," Bog grumbles, grabbing his briefcase.
Picking up Mikey, Marianne follows Bog into the courthouse with Gabe eagerly talking to Griselda. Putting on their best apologetic face both lawyers enter the courtroom to face the judge.
"I was going to give you three more minutes to show or pull you both for contempt," Judge Gordan comments dully. "You're lucky that power outage nearly made me late or I wouldn't be so lenient. I'll give you three minutes to get ready."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Marianne places her sons behind her seat before taking her place at the defendant's table with her associate Stephanie Craig. Within moments, the friendly rivalry between neighbors turns into a fierce battle as court becomes in-session. With objections and evidence thrown in as weapons, Marianne fights off Bog's prosecution of her client. She grins in satisfaction as the judge overrules Bog's motions and rules in her favor, giving her client a lesser penalty.
"Thank you so much, Miss Bane and Miss Craig," the large man gushes, shaking both women's hands.
"You're very welcome, Pare," Marianne grins. "Remember to pay your fine and not to make this same mistake again. Dame Plum will be informed by the end of today, so make sure you inform her yourself or face the consequences if she has to learn it only from me."
Pare shivers at the prospect of the alpha wolf's anger and reassures Marianne that he'll talk to her immediately. After the bailiff removes the silver bracelet off of his wrist, Pare joins his girlfriend and leaves the courtroom.
"I still think it's a terrible law for them to place subduing charms on all prosecuted wolves," Stephanie grumbles, collecting all the papers back into their briefcases. "It's really stupid to have a collared wolf for just a theft charge."
"It was agreed upon by the alphas for law and order," Marianne reminds her. "Even in wolf law, all accused wolves are treated as guilty of a crime until they are proven innocent. As the human courts don't have the power to subdue a guilty wolf like an alpha would be able to then it is fully acceptable for them to be restrained from transforming into their wolf form. They are actually treated far more softly here than they would be in the wolf world."
"I guess I still have a lot to learn to be a defense lawyer for wolves," Stephanie sighs as she runs a hand through her brown buzz-cut hair. "When are you going to introduce me to Dame Plum?"
"You don't want to be," Bog interrupts. "That woman is crazy and I don't think being a wolf has anything to do with it."
Marianne laughs at his distaste as he holds the gate open for her and Stephanie before following with his associate Thadius Hart. Gabe and Mikey latch onto her hands but eagerly look toward Bog.
"Technically, I didn't lose, so your mother is paying for breakfast this time," Bog comments.
"Technically, you did lose," Marianne injects.
"Your client was still charged with theft, therefore you lost," he counters, holding the door open.
"I wasn't trying to get my client off the hook and he knew it," she explains, walking through the courthouse. "As I fully proved to the court, Pare unknowingly committed the theft under the assumption that the storekeeper was bartering with him when she made that sarcastic remark. Once he was explained of the crime, Pare was willing to pay for his mistake and agreed to my effort to get him a lesser penalty than what you were trying to give him. Therefore I won because the judge agreed to my arguments. Dame Plum will be informed of the confusion and will make sure all wolves remember that this world does not work on a bartering system."
"Forget it, son," Griselda chuckles from his side. "You're paying for breakfast. So let's go, the boys and I are starving."
Bog sighs as he leads the way to the diner across the street and Brutus Fort laughs heartily at his surly expression as they enter, heading to their usual table.
"Lost again, huh, Bog," the cook chuckles through the window?
"Mind your eggs, Brutus," Bog grumbles, pulling out his mother's seat.
Thadius holds out the seat for Stephanie and grins happily when she takes it without a rude remark. The waitress helps Marianne secure Mikey's booster seat before taking their order. Gabe eagerly takes the seat between his mother and Bog, while Mikey sits between Marianne and Griselda.
"You're going to have to break-in a new waitress," Tasha jokes as she returns with the drinks. "I'm heading home to visit my family after the gateway opens."
"Oh no, I forgot about the full moon," Marianne groans, Bog echoing her statement.
"More wolves to get in trouble with the law," Bog complains. "It would be a lot easier if someone could teach them our laws before they got here."
"No can do," Tasha remarks. "Humans can't survive in the wolf world and those they did try to crossover, died when they made it."
"How about a wolf," Thadius questions? "Have one learn our laws and then return to teach the others that are going to cross."
"It's plausible but that would have to be approved of by the alphas. All authority belongs to them and they might see that as a problem. Our laws are ancient and teaching another set of laws could be seen as rebellion," Tasha cautions. "Especially since not every wolf crosses."
"It's at least an idea that might work and should be considered," Bog mutters before looking earnestly at Marianne with a conniving grin.
"Coward," Marianne barks.
"Dame Plum is crazy. You like her and practically work for her, you tell her," Bog argues. "I'd rather not meet her again any time soon."
Tasha stems the coming argument by bringing out the food and wisely keeps her ravenous wolf joke to herself as they eagerly dig in. Soon, however, the conversation turns back as hunger pains are appeased.
"There is a problem with that plan, though," Stephanie brings up. "Wolves don't have a surname unless they have married a human or are a child of such union and there isn't any school that will accept anyone that doesn't have a surname. A married wolf might not like the chance of being separated from their partner for three years and I haven't heard of many wolves that were raised here to be willing to go to the wolf world."
"A married wolf won't take that chance," Marianne remarks. "They are far too loyal to leave their mates for even a few days and that makes it impossible for a wolf married to a human to ever leave this world until their mate is dead. Human world born wolves never leave this world unless they are accompanying their wolf parent back and usually only when they are still children."
"Isn't there another way," Griselda asks, sneaking half of her doughnut to Mikey?
"Well, in the past eleven years that I've been a defense lawyer for wolves I have been compiling a list of offenses against human law and most of them are actually just the same thing repeated," Marianne explains. "As all wolves are required to report to Dame Plum on a frequent basis, we have been discussing a plan to give incoming wolves more detailed instructions of what to avoid doing while here and also an idea to start a school for wolves that are planning on staying here. The biggest problem is finding people to help. Before I started, there were no lawyers specifically to defend wolves because no lawyer took the time to find out what the wolf laws are."
"Now, thanks to your efforts, there are nearly a dozen lawyers that you've trained and right before I graduated law school they started a class on wolf law," Thadius pipes up. "Surely, it wouldn't take too much of an effort on finding more people willing to assist wolves."
"There are still plenty of people that are prejudiced against wolves and would rather see them fail," Marianne remarks lightly.
"I am not prejudiced against wolves," Bog growls, knowing where that remark was directed. "I just don't think any criminal should get off easy for any crime they commit and ignorance is no excuse. Everyone should be aware of the laws that govern the area they visit and should abide by those laws without exception, especially those that decide to live there. Tasha is a great example of a law-abiding wolf."
"Uh, I hate to burst your bubble, Bog, but I nearly committed a few crimes myself if it wasn't for Brutus correcting me," Tasha comments while serving another table. "These laws are kind of confusing."
Marianne snickers at Bog's defeated form, deliberately ignoring when he sneaks half his doughnut to Gabe. If there was only one thing that Cherrywood Diner was famous for then it would be their doughnuts and Marianne knew her sons had wormed their way into the hearts of the mother and son. 'A lot of good that will do when you have to leave again,' a vicious thought remarks. Sobering at the reminder of her nomadic lifestyle, Marianne finishes her breakfast in silence.
"When are you and Brutus going to get hitched anyway, Tasha," Griselda questions, trying to draw attention away from the pensive woman?
Tasha freezes in her task of clearing a table and a pan is heard throughout the diner as its cook drops it. The she-wolf turns beet red as she quickly clears the table and retreats speedily into the kitchen. Griselda smiles innocently as her son shakes his head at her.